What is HTML?
HTML is a language for describing web pages.
HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language
HTML is not a programming language, it is a markup language
A markup language is a set of markup tags
HTML uses markup tags to describe web pages
HTML Tags
HTML markup tags are usually called HTML tags
HTML tags are keywords surrounded by angle brackets like <html>
HTML tags normally come in pairs like <b> and </b>
The first tag in a pair is the start tag, the second tag is the end tag
Start and end tags are also called opening tags and closing tags
HTML Documents = Web Pages
HTML documents describe web pages
HTML documents contain HTML tags and plain text
HTML documents are also called web pages
The purpose of a web browser (like Internet Explorer or Firefox) is to read HTML documents and
display them as web pages. The browser does not display the HTML tags, but uses the tags to
interpret the content of the page:
<html>
<body>
<h1>My First Heading</h1>
<p>My first paragraph.</p>
</body>
</html>
Example Explained
The text between <html> and </html> describes the web page
The text between <body> and </body> is the visible page content
The text between <h1> and </h1> is displayed as a heading
The text between <p> and </p> is displayed as a paragraph
HTML Headings
HTML headings are defined with the <h1> to <h6> tags.
Example
<h1>This is a heading</h1>
<h2>This is a heading</h2>
<h3>This is a heading</h3>
Try it yourself »
HTML Paragraphs
HTML paragraphs are defined with the <p> tag.
Example
<p>This is a paragraph.</p>
<p>This is another paragraph.</p>
Try it yourself »
HTML Links
HTML links are defined with the <a> tag.
Example
<a href="http://www.w3schools.com">This is a link</a>
HTML Images
HTML images are defined with the <img> tag.
Example
<img src="w3schools.jpg" width="104" height="142" />
HTML documents are defined by HTML elements.
HTML Elements
An HTML element is everything from the start tag to the end tag:
Start tag * Element content End tag *
<p> This is a paragraph </p>
<a href="default.htm" > This is a link </a>
<br />
* The start tag is often called the opening tag. The end tag is often called the closing tag.
HTML Element Syntax
An HTML element starts with a start tag / opening tag
An HTML element ends with an end tag / closing tag
The element content is everything between the start and the end tag
Some HTML elements have empty content
Empty elements are closed in the start tag
Most HTML elements can have attributes
Nested HTML Elements
Most HTML elements can be nested (can contain other HTML elements).
HTML documents consist of nested HTML elements.
HTML Document Example
<html>
<body>
<p>This is my first paragraph.</p>
</body>
</html>
The example above contains 3 HTML elements.
HTML Example Explained
The <p> element:
<p>This is my first paragraph.</p>
The <p> element defines a paragraph in the HTML document.
The element has a start tag <p> and an end tag </p>.
The element content is: This is my first paragraph.
The <body> element:
<body>
<p>This is my first paragraph.</p>
</body>
The <body> element defines the body of the HTML document.
The element has a start tag <body> and an end tag </body>.
The element content is another HTML element (a p element).
The <html> element:
<html>
<body>
<p>This is my first paragraph.</p>
</body>
</html>
The <html> element defines the whole HTML document.
The element has a start tag <html> and an end tag </html>.
The element content is another HTML element (the body element).
Don't Forget the End Tag
Some HTML elements might display correctly even if you forget the end tag:
<p>This is a paragraph
<p>This is a paragraph
The example above works in most browsers, because the closing tag is considered optional.
Never rely on this. Many HTML elements will produce unexpected results and/or errors if you forget
the end tag .
Empty HTML Elements
HTML elements with no content are called empty elements.
<br> is an empty element without a closing tag (the <br> tag defines a line break).
Tip: In XHTML, all elements must be closed. Adding a slash inside the start tag, like <br />, is the
proper way of closing empty elements in XHTML (and XML).
HTML Tip: Use Lowercase Tags
HTML tags are not case sensitive: <P> means the same as <p>. Many web sites use uppercase HTML
tags.
W3Schools use lowercase tags because the World Wide Web Consortium
(W3C) recommendslowercase in HTML 4, and demands lowercase tags in XHTML.
HTML Attributes
« Previous Next Chapter »
Attributes provide additional information about HTML elements.
HTML Attributes
HTML elements can have attributes
Attributes provide additional information about an element
Attributes are always specified in the start tag
Attributes come in name/value pairs like: name="value"
Attribute Example
HTML links are defined with the <a> tag. The link address is specified in the href attribute:
Example
<a href="http://www.w3schools.com">This is a link</a>
Try it yourself »
Always Quote Attribute Values
Attribute values should always be enclosed in quotes.
Double style quotes are the most common, but single style quotes are also allowed.
Tip: In some rare situations, when the attribute value itself contains quotes, it is necessary to use
single quotes: name='John "ShotGun" Nelson'
HTML Tip: Use Lowercase Attributes
Attribute names and attribute values are case-insensitive.
However, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) recommends lowercase attributes/attribute values
in their HTML 4 recommendation.
Newer versions of (X)HTML will demand lowercase attributes.
HTML Attributes Reference
A complete list of legal attributes for each HTML element is listed in our:
Complete HTML Reference
Below is a list of some attributes that are standard for most HTML elements:
Attribute Value Description
class classname Specifies a classname for an element
id id Specifies a unique id for an element
style style_definition Specifies an inline style for an element
title tooltip_text Specifies extra information about an element (displayed as a
tool tip)
For more information about standard attributes:
HTML Standard Attributes Reference
Headings are important in HTML documents.
HTML Headings
Headings are defined with the <h1> to <h6> tags.
<h1> defines the most important heading. <h6> defines the least important heading.
Example
<h1>This is a heading</h1>
<h2>This is a heading</h2>
<h3>This is a heading</h3>
Try it yourself »
Note: Browsers automatically add some empty space (a margin) before and after each heading.
Headings Are Important
Use HTML headings for headings only. Don't use headings to make text BIG or bold.
Search engines use your headings to index the structure and content of your web pages.
Since users may skim your pages by its headings, it is important to use headings to show the
document structure.
H1 headings should be used as main headings, followed by H2 headings, then the less important H3
headings, and so on.
HTML Lines
The <hr /> tag creates a horizontal line in an HTML page.
The hr element can be used to separate content:
Example
<p>This is a paragraph</p>
<hr />
<p>This is a paragraph</p>
<hr />
<p>This is a paragraph</p>
Try it yourself »
HTML Comments
Comments can be inserted into the HTML code to make it more readable and understandable.
Comments are ignored by the browser and are not displayed.
Comments are written like this:
Example
<!-- This is a comment -->
Try it yourself »
Note: There is an exclamation point after the opening bracket, but not before the closing bracket.
HTML Tip - How to View HTML Source
Have you ever seen a Web page and wondered "Hey! How did they do that?"
To find out, right-click in the page and select "View Source" (IE) or "View Page Source" (Firefox), or
similar for other browsers. This will open a window containing the HTML code of the page.
Examples From This Page
Headings
Hidden comments
How to insert comments in the HTML source code.
Horizontal lines
How to insert a horizontal line.
HTML Tag Reference
W3Schools' tag reference contains additional information about these tags and their attributes.
You will learn more about HTML tags and attributes in the next chapters of this tutorial.
Tag Description
<html> Defines an HTML document
<body> Defines the document's body
<h1> to <h6> Defines HTML headings
<hr /> Defines a horizontal line
<!--> Defines a comment
